Residential electric power consumption may be measured with electricity meters. These devices have long been priced as commodities, dependent on the extremely low cost of materials and volume manufacturing processes. Additionally, electricity meters are preferably compact in size.
A typical residential electricity meter on the market today has a meter base that interfaces with a residential socket. The meter base provides mounting for the meter's internal components, which may include one or more current sensors, one or more metering circuit boards, and other components. Some electricity meters are provisioned with disconnect switches that may be remotely operated by a utility to disconnect a location (and its loads) from the power line. In some cases, the disconnect switch is provided in a separate enclosure external to the meter. Given the cost and size limitations of electricity meters, it can be difficult to provide a disconnect switch within the housing of an electricity meter.